Region

Canterbury

Job

Victoria is interested in Antarctic fish and spends one month of each year down on the Antarctic ice collecting samples and carrying out experiments - she really does get to sit over a hole with a fishing rod!

Antarctic fish are interesting because they need to have ways of surviving in extremely cold waters. As a consequence, their blood is very different to the blood of other fish. First, they have large amounts of antifreeze proteins. This makes their blood thicker, so some species lack red blood cells to compensate (oxygen is a lot more soluble at cold temperatures, so carrier proteins like the haemoglobin found in red blood cells aren’t needed).

Another adaptation of Antarctic fish is that they tend to have more fat. This makes them more buoyant (lots of Antarctic fish don’t have swim bladders). The fat is also the main source of energy for the fish. From a consumer’s perspective, the fat is of interest because of its high nutritional value.

Victoria is particularly interested in the fats of Antarctic fish and how they are processed by the fish’s body. For example, very little is known about how Antarctic fish transport fatty components in their blood. Humans and other mammals (and most fish) use a protein called albumin, but Antarctic fish don’t appear to have this mechanism.

Victoria’s work therefore has significant scientific value. From a commercial point of view, working out the different chemicals that are involved in fat processing in Antarctic fish may also lead to the identification and isolation of unique proteins with a commercial application, for example in breaking down fats.

Victoria says: “I love the fact that you can do something that no-one else in the world has ever done before. You’re challenging your mind constantly.”

Victoria’s work involves catching Antarctic fish, collecting blood samples, and identifying blood proteins. She is also carrying out some genetic studies to try to understand how Antarctic fish evolved to live at such cold temperatures.

Find out more, get Radio New Zealand audio: Antarctic Fish Research

Career Pathway

Victoria’s favourite subject at school was English, but she decided that career options in science looked more exciting. Her favourite science subject was biology, and like a lot of students she started out wanting to be a marine biologist.

She obtained a science degree from the University of Otago and although early during her degree she didn’t envisage going on to do a PhD, it seemed the “next natural step.” She was offered an ideal research project at the Christchurch School of Medicine and since then has held three research positions.

Highlights of her career so far include being able to develop her own research projects, getting opportunities to go to Antarctica, attending a conference in Brazil, and working with a wide variety of fascinating animals, from tuatara to lungfish to Antarctic fish, and being a role model for women in science.

Interests

Like many other scientists, Victoria is actually an outdoors person at heart and she enjoys running and biking. She relishes the additional opportunities she has had working as a cruise director on ecotourism trips to the Antarctic region. She also thinks leading a balanced life, with lots of socialising, is important.

Another passion is communicating science to the public, and she has enjoyed being involved in the organisation of several public presentations about topical issues – vaccinations, bird flu, and alien invaders (the role of imported plants in the community). She thinks that it is very important that people have the facts to make informed decisions about important issues.